t had been almost a year and a half since Star Wars: The Force Unleashed appeared on the cover of Game Informer Magazine, so we were more than ready to get our hands on it at a recent LucasArts event in Santa Monica. While what we’d seen of the game since it was revealed certainly looked fun, it’s impossible to say how things like that actually work until you get to play around with it yourself. After all, people camped out weeks in advance of Star Wars: Episode I, and, well, we all know how that turned out. (We played the Xbox 360 version of the game, which we’re told should be identical to the PlayStation 3 version.)
After spending some serious time tossing Stormtroopers around like toys, knocking Wookiees off rope bridges on Kashyyyk and making an all-around mess at a Tie Fighter hangar, we’re happy to report that, at the very least, the first few levels are very, very fun.
The Force Unleashed takes place between Star Wars: Episodes III and IV, and sets out to show that Luke wasn’t the first person that Vader offered the apprentice job to. In the first stage of the game, Vader lands on Kashyyk, already in the midst of an imperial attack. Wookiees and Stormtroopers are waging war all around the treetops, but their fighting is of little interest to Vader. He’s on a far more important mission—finding a particularly strong force user who’s hidden somewhere on the planet.
If you’ve longed to step into the black boots of Star Wars’ biggest badass, the Force Unleashed fulfills that dream. As Vader, players have access to an arsenal of attacks, both lightsaber and force based. This introductory level is a great way to show the player some of the moves they’ll have access to later in the game. He can lift and hurl Wookiees off cliffs or into groups of other Wookies. His lightsaber can be thrown, where it spins in a boomerang-like arc—destroying nearly anything in its path. And once Stormtroopers get the message that something is seriously wrong with their master, they fire their blasters at him, which are effortlessly deflected by the lightsaber. (Seriously, players don’t have to do anything to knock blaster shots out of the way—it’s an automatic move. There’s a reason why Vader is such a powerful force user…)
Much has been made of the game’s use of the Euphoria physics system, and after seeing it in action, we can see why. Enemies react to their surroundings in subtle and impressive ways, whether they’re trying to regain their balance on uneven ground or desperately attempting to avoid falling off a ledge. In one instance, we knocked a Wookiee down onto the ground with a force push. He landed near one of his buddies, and when we force-lifted the first Wookiee into the air, he grabbed onto the arm of his friend in an attempt to avoid another ride.
Eventually, we ran into a Jedi, who was the level’s boss fight of sorts. He was a tough cookie, able to snag passing Tie Fighters down and smash them into the ground, but he was no match for Lord Vader. After wearing his health down to nothing, we learned the surprising truth: The Jedi we fought wasn’t the source of the force Vader detected. Instead, it was a little boy, destined to be his secret apprentice.
The next section takes place several years later. We still don’t know the character’s real name, but his codename is Starkiller, a nod to Luke Skywalker’s original name. Under Vader’s tutelage, he’s become a powerful force user in his own right. His techniques are more acrobatic in nature. He can perform a double-jump, for instance, which is something that the relatively gimpy Vader could probably only dream of. As players proceed, they can unlock new techniques and level up existing powers.
It’s great to see that the level design (or at least the first two levels we saw) included plenty of sections for players to experiment with the force and the game’s physics. After hitting rope bridges a few times, they bounce into the air in wavelike motions, knocking anyone treading upon them into the air. In the Tie Fighter hangar area, crates and even Tie Fighters can be grabbed and used like bowling balls against clusters of Stormtroopers and Rebel fighters. While Vader might have mowed through most of the enemies without worrying too much about getting hurt, the apprentice isn’t quite as tough. He’s no weakling, but players who try to charge into combat the same way are likely to face a “game over” screen.
As fun as mucking around with the physics was we’re especially looking forward to learning more about the story. LucasArts says that one of the game’s endings is official canon, which, as Star Wars nerds, is fun to hear. The game feels like a solid representation of the Star Wars that we love, and it’s cool to know that the story “actually” takes place within the bounds of its fictional universe.
Look for it this September.